Catalinbread Sabbra Cadabra

While bands like The Beatles are widely credited with influencing modern rock music, there is perhaps no band more blatantly aped today than Black Sabbath. Sabbath's exquisite smoky riffs have helped shape music for decades, even spawning a whole new genre named for fans of the... "Sweet Leaf." And the linchpin of this riff machine is a man named Tony Iommi.

While other pieces of gear have come and gone in Iommi's rig continuum, two have remained constant: a monstrous stack of Laney amps and a treble booster. We give you: the Sabbra Cadabra by Catalinbread.

Inspired by Iommi's Laney Supergroup amps and Rangemaster treble booster, the Sabbra Cadabra may well be the final word in nailing Iommi's tone from the foundation rather than the aftereffects. Too much emphasis is placed on fuzz pedals coupled with distortion and whatever else. Why not start at the blueprint: two pieces of Iommi's gear that are always on as long as a guitar is in his hands.

The Sabbra Cadabra can be run at up to 18 volts, which increases headroom and gives a sharper attack, which allows a player to slice through the mix like a champ. Alternately, the unit can be powered by a starved power supply or weakened battery, down to three or four volts. This will soften the tone up significantly, but the changes are certainly significant. Give it a shot!

Each Sabbra Cadabra is handmade in Portland, Oregon and wired for true bypass. It can be powered by either a 2.1mm center-negative 9v or 18v plug, and the current draw is low enough so that it is power supply-ready.​